Exercising My Self-Control

It’s not a secret that I like food. I can pick at my children’s leftovers or even just to check if the temperature is right. If I could get away with it, I would graze all day. I like food. I like to eat. But here’s the thing, I can’t get away with it. I really don’t want to eat myself into an early death. (That sounds overly-dramatic but isn’t). So I’ve got to exercise my self-control. 

Quite a few people in noting my weight loss have said to me wistfully, “I just don’t have the will power (or self-control etc).” And then they write off any attempt to try to get fitter for the foreseeable future. I used to do that but lately I’ve been thinking of self-control as a muscle. The more I use it, the stronger it gets. 

I have stopped myself from eating the kids’ leftovers by simply reminding myself that I am a woman of discipline and dignity. The phrase just popped into my head. I’ve never been one for affirmations but in thinking that, I was able to act with more self-control and stop simply eating because the food was there. Admittedly, some days it’s more successful than others. There are days when I don’t feed my body as well as I would like. But it always works better than the recrimination and loathing I would treat myself too after “failing” at my diet again. My self-control muscle is getting stronger. 

This muscle analogy helps me because I understand that having a weak muscle isn’t an excuse for not exercising. I also understand that getting stronger takes effort. Dieting and losing weight are simple. But simple doesn’t mean easy. Everything that’s worthwhile takes effort. 

Is living longer and more healthfully worth the effort of putting down a piece of cake? It seems a no-brainer these days.